This 8-Year-Old Ifugao Girl Can Operate a Backhoe

Eight-year-old Aubrey Ayan is not your typical Grade 2 student. She is active in class, running for honors, and a member of the Girl Scout of the Philippines. And on the side, she can also operate a backhoe — a real, massive, construction site backhoe!

While her classmates spend their afternoons in the playground after classes, Aubrey heads to her version of the playground: the construction site, playing with heavy equipment such as the backhoe. She knew how to start the engine, maneuver it, and drive it towards the side of a cliff.

The young girl aspires to become an engineer when she grows up and plans to study in Manila.

Mother Ligaya Rose Ayan said that Aubrey’s interest in construction could be traced back to her father, Kim, who is a construction worker. When she was little, Ligaya recounts, Aubrey prefers to play outdoors over dolls.

Screenshot from ABS-CBN Bandila’s Video

Her father, Kim, was shocked when he witnessed himself how his daughter can operate the backhoe.

On the other hand, her parents clarified that Aubrey is not working as a backhoe operator, or any kind of job, at all; they are just supporting their daughter’s hobby.

Some netizens who have seen Aubrey’s video operating a backhoe were afraid for her safety while the others were proud of her courage.